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fitness

I feel like it’s been some time since I’ve done an actual “real life” post. Sure, I share my baby updates each week, but I haven’t been very good about documenting (or photographing) my every day happenings. I know from experience that these types of posts are some of the most popular, so I am going to make a better effort at writing them.

With that, allow me to share with you my weekend in its entirety.

Saturday

I left you on Friday complaining about my uninvited illness. Fortunately, I woke up Saturday feeling much better thanks to the help of antibiotics and a good day of rest. After spending two days on the couch, I was more than ready to shower and get out of the house.

First, I filled up with breakfast.

One egg, two egg whites, plus toast and fruit.

Ever since I got pregnant, I’ve been meaning to take a prenatal yoga class. I’ve done some prenatal yoga and Pilates at home, but nothing seriously. There is a yoga studio close by and I saw them advertising their Saturday morning prenatal yoga classes last week. This was perfect!

The hour and a half class was just what I needed. It was so great to be surrounded by other pregnant women who were all going through the same aches and pains as I was. I swear, as I near the end of this pregnancy, I feel more and more like a big spectacle when I leave the house, so finally being able to find a group where I fit right in was the best part of this class. The instructor was great! Even though she wasn’t pregnant, she was a mom of two and was very knowledgeable on practicing safe yoga with a bun in the oven. We did all kinds of stretches, breathing techniques, and some meditation. It was glorious!

After class, I headed right to a place I haven’t been to in a very long time….

Well this pedicure was a little piece of heaven! Since I can’t reach my toes anymore, I figured it was time to pay someone else to do it for me. I also splurged for a manicure reluctantly. You see, manicures are kind of addicting for me. Once I get one, I can’t stop.

I left the nail salon and then found myself rather hungry for lunch. I still had a few errands to run but made a stop at Panera for a lunch break.

The chicken Cobb salad was calling my name! Panera was packed and after I ordered and picked up my food, I realized there was not a single seat open in the restaurant. I looked around for a little and then 3 people volunteered to give up their seats for me. I guess when you are incredibly pregnant and walking around looking starved and distressed, people take pity on you. I kind of feel bad having special treatment but then I realize, I can only take advantage of this stage for a little while longer.

After I got home from a long day out, I had a random urge to bake. John was getting off work early and I decided it would be a nice surprise to have warm cookies waiting for him.

Okay, so that was really my excuse to eat a warm chocolate chip oatmeal cookie but he did appreciate the gesture.

We kept things low key for dinner with a homemade pizza.

The picture doesn’t do this one justice. It was a combination of spinach, artichoke, feta, and sun died tomatoes and it was delicious!

Once we finished dinner, one of us mentioned ice cream (probably me) and then started talking about blizzards. John brought up Dairy Queen on his phone, said the words “pumpkin pie blizzard” and it was a done deal.

This was my first time trying the Pumpkin Pie Blizzard and although I did like it, I don’t know if I would get it again. It didn’t blow me away but it did hit the spot.

Sunday

After a good night’s sleep, I was up and eagerly in the kitchen to get started on a big craving before church.

Tis’ the season for pumpkin pancakes!

We were off to church shortly after breakfast and then headed to the grocery store. Shopping worked up an appetite for the both of us so we grabbed lunch before heading back home.

I was so happy to find a Sweet Green! One, I’ve never been and have heard only great things, and two, I’ve really been enjoying salads lately. This one contained beets, sweet potatoes, goat cheese, avocados and walnuts. I also had to try their Watermelon Lemonade because I mean, who doesn’t love the sounds of that?

We came home, I cleaned up the apartment and John planted himself in front of the TV to commence the start of football season. I did some organizing of the nursery (aka nesting) and then crashed for an hour on the couch. John woke up me around 6pm asking about dinner.

This dinner took little effort, which was definitely a good thing seeing as I was still half asleep. It was a simple sauce from tomatoes, basil, garlic, balsamic and olive oil sautéed with broccolini, shrimp, linguini, and spinach and topped with feta cheese.

We ended the night with an evening walk as we normally do. John and I have been walking almost every night for the past few weeks and I’m hoping it’s going to push me along with this whole labor thing. I heard from a friend if I wanted to have this baby before his due date to walk, walk and then walk some more. We’ll see. I’m certainly ready for him but I know he’ll come when he is ready.

Fitness

I haven’t shared much on the fitness front lately and this probably isn’t the best week to share, considering I was sick for half of it, but just to give you an idea of how I’m moving (or attempting to move) these days.

M- an hour walk with John

T- 30 min elliptical, 15 min weights

W- Off (sick)

TH – Off (sick)

F- 30 min walk + 10 min weights

S – 90 min prenatal yoga

S- an hour walk with John

As you can see, lots of walking. I still feel okay most mornings to get into the gym for a little cardio but very light cardio. The elliptical has been a good choice for me and I’ve been trying to focus on doing more lower body weight exercises (like squats and lunges) to help strengthen those muscles in preparation for labor. It really all depends on the day. Some days I feel like I can do a lot more and other days, my body just isn’t having it. I just listen to my body and do what I can.

Well, that concludes the weekend. I’m looking forward to a week of being healthy and just waiting for the little one to arrive.

I trust you all had a great weekend. It was BEAUTIFUL here, which always makes for a nice weekend. To be honest, I don’t have much to report, as I didn’t really do anything terribly exciting. Even my food was kind of lame, aside from tonight’s dinner, which I didn’t even photograph. If you’ve seen one Spinach and Feta Turkey Burger you’ve seen them all right?

The highlight of my Saturday was finally getting my hair done. It’s been a LONG time and I figured with the wedding less than 2 weeks away, it was time to pamper myself a bit.

As laid back as I was yesterday, I can’t say I’m disappointed. Today made up for it.

John and I decided to forgo church in order to get to Ikea right when it opened. We had a bit of a drive ahead of us, so we were out the door by 9am.

The Ikea trip was a big success and we ended up walking away with the crib, a dresser, and a book shelf for the nursery.

And of course this fun little dragon puppet John insisted on purchasing. He has a thing for puppets….and dragons.

We decided to take advantage of such a beautiful day and being close to the city, so we drove in for an afternoon walk in the Commons and lunch.

The one thing I love about Boston compared to Chicago is how laid back it feels. Sure, there are a lot of people, but for some reason this city always just seems more calm.

After some walking, we both worked up quite an appetite. John recommend a place called Parish Cafe on Boylston Street.

It featured some pretty amazing sandwiches and wraps. I decided to go with the Zuri Wrap – smoked turkey, bacon, a cranberry chipotle sauce and served with a raspberry puree on the side.

It was delicious!

We made our way back home shortly after lunch and John put together most of the furniture. I’m so happy to have some things set up in the nursery. It just feels so much more real now.

We are ending our night watching the U.S (attempt) to win another game in the World Cup. Not a bad weekend at all!

Fitness

Workouts last week went as follows:

M: 3 miles + 1 mile walk + 15 min body weight circuit

T: 30 min stationary bike + 20 min ET

W: 3 miles + 1 mile walk + 15 min body weight circuit

TH: 30 min ET, 20 min treadmill walk

F: 3 miles + 1 mile walk + 15 min body weight circuit

S: OFF

S: 1 hour walk

I’m getting a little routined with my workouts but I don’t have the energy to think of anything else, nor do I think my body can handle anything more at this point.

With the first weekend of June behind us, I have a feeling this summer is going to come and go before I know it. This month is more low key, but starting next month, we will be going non stop until little peanut arrives, so we are trying to enjoy our relaxed weekends while we can.

Saturday

Unfortunately, I’m having trouble sleeping past 5am on any day, so Saturday morning was quite an early one for me. John had to work in the morning, so I was up to see him off and then spent a few hours laying around before I got started on my day.

Breakfast was a classic; scrambled eggs, whole what english muffin with homemade strawberry jam and some strawberries.

Since I was up so early, I was at the grocery store before 8am. It was actually kind of nice getting all of my shopping for the week out the way, because it allowed me for an entire afternoon of this….

Seriously just what I needed. I’m so happy to be lying by the pool and just doing nothing on the weekends right now.

Eventually I got hungry for lunch and came back up to the apartment to make something to eat.

A veggie burger with laughing cow, pickles, spinach and mustard with a side of baby carrots and salsa ranch dressing.

The rest of the day was unfortunately rough for me. I seem to have two good days with my UC and then I’ll follow that with a day or two of a really bad patch. I laid on the couch, staying close to the bathroom for the rest of the afternoon. Not fun.

John got home around dinner time and I finally managed to work back up an appetite for supper.

I made BBQ chicken kabobs with pineapple and peppers and served them with brown rice and roasted asparagus. It was a very tasty and summery meal that seemed to sit okay with me for the rest of the night.

We spent the rest of the night hanging out on our balcony and enjoying the warm summer evening.

Sunday

I was able to sleep in a little longer today, but was still up earlier than I hoped to be. After noshing on a bagel and some juice, John and I got moving for church.

Crazy thing happened at church today…..

About 10 minutes into the service, the fire alarm went off and everyone was evacuated. A few moments later, multiple fire trucks showed up with firemen running in. We waited around for awhile and realized everyone was leaving, so we eventually did the same. I’m not sure what happened, but I think everyone was okay.

Once we got back home, we decided to walk downtown and grab lunch and check out the local Art Festival that was going on.

We walked around for a bit until we remembered about a place we have passed a few times, Scratch. It is a local brunch and sandwich shop that features everything made in house and from scratch.

Me and my handsome date found a table outside and perused the menu.

I wasn’t terribly hungry, so I settled on the local Greek yogurt with handmade maple quinoa granola.

It was actually the perfect choice and allowed me room to steal a few bites of John’s fabulous entrée.

He went for the Fat Elvis, which consisted of french toast stuffed with peanut butter and hand cured bacon and topped with local maple syrup.

With our bellies full, we walked around a bit until we found some room for dessert.

A quaint local ice cream parlor happened to have my all time favorite hard ice cream flavor, Milky Way. I grew up next to a ice cream shop that carried Milky Way and I’ve never seen it since. This little baby cone made me so happy and brought back so many good memories. We enjoyed our cones while listening to live jazz music in the square.

The rest of the afternoon was spent lounging and getting ready for the week. I prepped some food items for lunches for the week and then eventually started dinner.

Spinach and Basil Goat Cheese Turkey Burgers were on the menu. These are so good and so easy! I used my recipe here but added in fresh basil to the mix. Delicious!

I also decided to stuff the center of each burger with a piece of goat cheese rather than mix it in. Another brilliant idea! The goat cheese oozed out of the center with one bite.

In honor of National Running Day, I thought I would take this opportunity to share a few of my self-gathered thoughts and tips on how I manage to keep up with a running routine during pregnancy.

First and foremost, I always must start off these posts by saying that if you are pregnant, to check with your doctor before performing any exercise routine, especially if you are unsure as to whether it has negative or positive impacts on your pregnancy. Everyone is different, and it is important to do what is right for your body and more importantly, your growing fetus, bottom line.

Now before I got pregnant, I was a regular runner, clocking in anywhere from 20-30 miles per week. I also worked out routinely mixing in spin classes and weight training. I’d like to say I was in pretty good shape when we conceived.

For the first few weeks of my pregnancy, sickness got the best of me and for most of my first trimester, I let exercise take a backseat in my daily routine. I’ve read that it’s actually quite normal and acceptable to lay off working out during your first trimester. This is a very crucial time for the development of your baby and your body is going to endure a marathon of changes on its own so don’t even make yourself feel bad for giving yourself a well-earned and much needed break during those first weeks.

When I reached my second trimester, I started feeling much better and began to reintroduce workouts into my schedule. I started slow by using the elliptical trainer, incline walking on the treadmill and doing very moderate hand weight exercises. As I gained some of my strength and endurance back, I also began to include some short runs and jogs into my routine. It wasn’t easy as first, as you have to remember your body is not in the normal shape it once was. You are producing more blood and have less oxygen to spare so don’t expect the same running experience as you once did. And that’s okay!

Here are my top 5 tips for running while pregnant:

5. Start Slow – Before I got pregnant, I could easily perform a 7-mile run without any problems. When I started running again during my second trimester, I knew 7 milers were a thing of the past, so I gave myself a starting point of one mile and then I told myself I would see how I felt after that. Eventually, I worked my way up to 4 miles and then realized that was my cutoff. At this point in my pregnancy, I’m comfortable running 3 miles and then I usually end it by walking at an incline for an additional mile. As I get bigger, this could change but for now, it is what works best.

4. Take Walking Breaks – Don’t ignore the usual signs that your body needs to stop and walk like you normally would during a run. As soon as I feel myself run out of oxygen or feel a weird pain, I stop and walk. I usually program in 2-3 walk breaks per 3 mile run. For example, I’ll run for a mile, walk for a minute or two, run another mile, walk, etc.

3. Slow Down – There is no way I’m performing an 8 minute mile right now and it took me awhile to find a comfortable pace that I could maintain but that also gave me a little challenge without too much strain. I’m hesitant to post numbers because like I said, everyone is different, but for me, this is about 5.8 – 6.0pmph on the treadmill. Sometimes, if I am feeling good, I will bump that up to 6.5mph for the last mile, but it depends on how I feel.

2. Drink Plenty of Water – Always bring a water bottle with you when you work out! I can’t stress that enough. You will almost always need it, trust me on this.

1. Don’t Compare – I can’t tell you how hard it is not to compare myself to my pre-pregnancy shape, but the truth of the matter is that I am not that same person anymore. I’m 20 pounds heavier and my body is taking one of the biggest undertakings that it ever has. I catch myself sometimes thinking I should be running more, going for longer, or pushing myself harder and than I realize that is the one of the few times in my life when it is 100% OKAY to not follow the “normal workout rules.”

No matter what you choose or choose not to do, I commend every single mom and mom-to-be out there. Pregnancy is no joke and truthfully, it’s not easy. Some days you are going to love your body for the amazing capabilities it has and for every remarkable development that it takes to create a human life. Other days, you are going to look at yourself and realize you have absolutely no control over your expanding stomach, growing backside, or swollen limbs, but in the end, the result that amounts after those self-compromising 9 months is worth every single struggle.

What a FANTASTIC weekend! Really, this was one of the best weekends I’ve had in a long time and I can credit most of it to being able to spend every minute of it with my love. It’s not often that we get to see each other on our off days since John usually works the weekends, but since it was his birthday, he took a few days off so we could celebrate together.

FRIDAY

It all started Friday when I got off work. I had scored us amazing seats thanks to my boss for the Red Sox game. John hasn’t been to Fenway in such a long time (he use to go all of the time when he lived in Boston) so it was a great gift for him.

The game turned out to be an exciting one with three ejections and a clear the dugout fight. Unfortunately, it started raining pretty hard before the 7th inning so we decided to call it a night early.

SATURDAY

I was up early on Saturday per usual and got started on putting together a birthday breakfast for the man of the day.

(excuse this awfully blurry picture, I didn’t realize it until I uploaded it)

Scrambled eggs, fruit and toast with a side of Reese’s Peanut Butter Bars and a bag of candy.

After we ate and cleaned up, we were out the door for an early doctor’s appointment with my midwife. The appointment went great and after hearing our little bambino’s heart beat, we hit the road for our next adventure, Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

New Hampshire is a very short drive from us and since both of us had never been, we decided it would be a good day trip and reason to see some new places. A few friends recommended checking out the town of Portsmouth for a nice local, authentic, and charming feel.

As soon as we drove in, we spotted signs for a Farmer’s Market and knew where our first stop would be.

The first market trip of the season and it was booming with eager people ready to start filling their reusable bags with fresh produce. We walked away with a loaf of whole wheat bread and homemade strawberry jam.

We spent the next hour walking around downtown and taking in the sights.

We eventually worked up our appetites and found a cute little seafood restaurant on the dock. Both of us were on the hunt for an amazing Lobster roll and fortunately, they were everywhere!

We sat outside on the deck and enjoyed the beautiful sunshine.

Luckily for us, we found a good spot because our Lobster rolls were amazing!

So this was my very first Lobster Roll experience and let me say, it was an incredible one! The lobster was extremely fresh, sweet and simple. I could definitely get used to this New England favorite.

After lunch, we walked around some more until we found a quaint bookstore where we ended our afternoon with tea and some reading.

With full bellies and feeling entirely relaxed, it was time to venture back towards home later in the afternoon. I asked John to think about what he wanted me to make for his birthday dinner and he came back with his favorite meal, salmon salads. This also happens to be my favorite meal as well so I certainly didn’t argue.

This could not have been any better. Pan seared salmon over spinach salad with strawberries, edamame, avocado, pecans, and goat cheese with roasted asparagus on the side.

The night ended with a movie and some snuggle time on the couch. Completely perfect.

SUNDAY

I was up again super early today and took advantage of my early rise by doing some cleaning before John woke up. I eventually got pretty hungry and broke into my Farmer’s Market goods for a piece of whole wheat bread with almond butter and a bowl of plain yogurt with berries and strawberry jam.

We headed to church and then to the mall to buy our wedding bands!

When we got home, we decided to hit up the pool for the first time this season. It was still just barely too cold to swim, but it was the perfect temperate to layout and grab a bit of sun.

A perfect dinner completed this perfect weekend with a summery pasta dish of basil and garlic linguini, sautéed zucchini, tomatoes and corn with grilled chicken and feta. All tossed with fresh basil and a bit of olive oil.

And with that, the weekend came to a close. I feel fully relaxed, well feed, and incredibly blessed to be doing life with the man I love.

FITNESS

On the fitness front, here is a snapshot of last week’s workouts:

M: 2 mile walk

T: 3 mile jog + 1 mile incline walking + upper body weight circuit

W: 30 min ET + 20 min incline walking

TH: 3 mile jog + 1 mile incline walking + lower body weight circuit

F: 30 min ET + 20 min incline walking

S: walking all over Portsmouth

THIS WEEK’S MENU

I haven’t been doing much weekly meal planning these days, mainly because I haven’t been feeling well and dinner is usually just whatever I can tolerate and also because John has been working evenings, but this week, I’m hoping to feel more myself and John is opening so I’ll have more opportunities to cook.

Here is a look at what I’m planning:

M: Wing it (John is working late and I have some errands to run after work)

T: Fish tacos with peach salsa

W: Chicken sausage, sweet potatoes and sautéed spinach

TH: Pasta with grilled chicken, marinara and spinach

F: Naan pizzas with salad

And last but not least, I am beyond honored to be featured on my dear friend Ashely’s blog today talking all about my journey with infertility and hypothalamic amenorrhea. I hope you get a chance to check it out.

For what was supposed to be a dreary and lackluster weekend, it actually turned into the exact opposite. Saturday morning was full of clouds and rain, but in just a few hours, the clouds parted, the sun came out, and it turned out to be one of the most beautiful weekends we’ve had in a long time. With a mix of good food, friends, and time spent with my main squeeze, I can’t help but smile after a wonderful two days.

Saturday

John was up early for work and unfortunately, I was up with him as I couldn’t sleep. It turned out in my favor though, because after a nice breakfast, I was able to get myself out the door before 9am and got all of my errands done before lunch.

1/2 Blueberry bagel with cream cheese, 1 fried egg, strawberries and a side of green juice

After my errands were run, I came home and put together lunch.

I’ve really been into smoothies lately and find myself craving them when the weather is warm. I knew a smoothie would be on the menu, but I also had the idea to pair it with a quick quesadilla.

Sweet potatoes, black beans, feta and spinach

The smoothie was a simple mix of banana, almond milk, almond butter, spinach and hemp seeds.

After lunch, I took a long walk. I feel like it’s been forever since I’ve been able to get out and walk and just breathing fresh (warm) air was a fantastic feeling.

When I got back, I was exhausted and hung out on the couch until John came home around dinner time.

Thankfully, he came home bearing gifts. Fresh salmon!

One guess what we had for dinner.

Salmon Cesar Salads

After dinner, we headed downtown to take another walk and end our night with a fro yo date.

Sunday

Today was our last premarital class at church, which meant our last Sunday to wake up super early for the first service. Before heading out, we dined on fresh bagels, fruit and juice for breakfast.

Church was good and after class, we grabbed lunch with a couple in our class. With such busy schedules, it’s been hard to find time to make new friends here, so it was great to be able to spend a few hours getting to know new people with such similar interests.

We had an appointment after lunch that took up the remainder of our afternoon so by the time we got home, it was already time to think about dinner.

I’ve been trying to get in the habit of making one large dish on Sundays and have an abundance of leftovers for the week. Tonight, I put together a delicious chicken pesto pasta salad, that was not only super easy and healthy, but made enough to last us for most of the week.

I will post the full recipe this week!

And that sums up the weekend. I am absolutely loving these long spring days, spending time outside, and fresh delicious food. Thank goodness for spring and let’s bring on summer!